Of course, it’s easy to plot out how things should go: First responders get to the scene, discover there’s one man in a building, remove people nearby from harm’s way, get the building isolated, set up barricades, prepare a nice pot of coffee for the negotiators. . . .
But real life is usually pretty messy. There have been times when a crisis situation that was thought to be contained suddenly wasn’t. This routinely happened during the 1970s and early 1980s with airplane hijackings, when the aircraft would be refueled and allowed to leave an airport, sometimes without even any concessions from the hijackers. I’ll spare you my tirade, but it is important to admit that things often don’t go according to script. Hostage negotiators sometimes find themselves back at square one after hours and hours of work, and you may too. That’s why one of the most important qualities a negotiator can have is patience.
The NYPD Hostage Negotiator checklist emphasizes that time is on the side of the negotiators. One of the basic goals of the checklist and its related procedures is to slow down the incident. This helps the negotiating team think. It makes it possible to gather more information. It also helps cool emotions.
Taking your time and being patient help negate the real-life messy factor. Stepping back from the process can give you an opportunity to put the messiness in perspective. Sometimes if you strip away the emotional response, you realize that you are still on your game plan.